Discussions By Condition: Hand conditions

Numbness in hand after waking up from sleep.

In the mornings when I wake up from sleep either my right hand or my left hand or sometime both are tingling and numb. After a short time they are back to normal and don't bother me the rest of the day. At first I thought I was sleeping on my hand at night, but I don't think there is anyway I'm sleeping on both of them...Should I be worried about this?:confused:

47 Replies:

i read about this and its called tunnel something think its to do with nerves or tendon that run through somet in the hand like a tunnel it happens when this gets swollen not sure if u can cure it maybe surgery sorry cant help anymore than that

I have this too. First diagnosed as carpel tunnel syndrome, but after nerve tests by neurologist, was told it is cubital tunnel syndrome. I had to change the way I slept - not bend at elbows, but arms straight out or down. This has stopped the symptoms, but it is hard to get used to sleeping that way.]I went to an orthopedic doctor who specializes in hand problems. If it gets worse, surgery is available. (The procedure reroutes the nerve so it doesn't press on the elbow bone when arm is bent at elbow.)The tests by the nerologist are expensive, but covered under medicare and most insurance policies.Hope this helps. Of course your situation may be different.

i awoke this morning to numbness in the top of my left hand. The result is a wrist that is still completely limp. Called my doctor and a nurse practitioner said that because i wasn't experiencing any chest pain (angina?) that it was probably some kind of nerve damage. Last year I was hospitalized for (spinal)osteomyalitis (and ended up losing L5 disc in my spine). As a result, i lost some feeling in my left big toe-- which has never completely returned. The nurse said that it probably has nothing to do with this and that it could wait until tomorrow-- and if it gets any worse-- or if it's still numb tomorrow-- to come in to the doctor. As an artist (fashion designer)-- i am obviously quite nervous about anything to do with my hands (though, luckily-- i am right-handed). Advice?

I often wake up several times throughout the night because one or both of my hands are so numb that i absolutely cannot feel them. I have been told several times that It's often a sign of Carpel Tunnel as Carpel Tunnel has a lot to do with nerves. I dont think it's anything to be overly concerned over, but definitely something to be aware of and to bring up to your doctor especially if you have other symptoms of Carpel Tunnel.

I have just been diagonosed with reactive arthritis, and for the past 2 months I have woken up wih my left arm totally numb, this happens 2-4times a night. When it first happened I was really frightened because my arm as that numb that I couldnt find it, felt really weird, I have to shake my arm and hand so th blood can go back into it, it takes about 30secs to get feeling back but feels like hours, as im panicking. Getting more used to it. Doctor doesnt seem concerned, thinks a symptom from the reactive arthritis.

You have all the symptoms of Carpal Tunnel. I had problems at night, and in the morning. I was diagnosed 3 months ago. I bought a hand/wrist brace (you can get them at any drug store). It is just for carpal tunnel, around $15.00. It keeps you from bending your wrist at night,(which puts pressure on the carpal tunnel). I have been pain free since wearing my brace at night!!!

My partner and I have just started to notice that we both wake up periodicly during the night experiencing numbness in our hands. Surely we both cant have developed this syndrome simultaneously, can we?I have given it some thought and it seems the numbness coincided with the weather turning cooler and our purchase of a new duvet. The duvet is just a tad too small which results in a nocturnal tug of war for duvet coverage. I rekon when you've pulled the duvet off the other person you tend to grip it tightly up around your neck, elbows bent. How many times this happens during the is anyones guess.Plausible? I'm going to make my partner sleep in a sleeping bag tonight to see if I can prove my point.

how long does the numbness last? I have been having the same numbness due from sleeping on one position. The numb started with my left hand, then after a while, most of the numb goes away, except for the area around my thumb. It has been that way for nearly 2 weeks. Been to the doctor but he doesnt seem concern. he said it might be due to me compressing the main nerve for a long time while i was sleeping, hence the long period of numbness. but in actual fact, i woke up after just half hour with the numb. the meds he gave are not working. anybody got any idea what's happening? appreciate the feedback. thanks.

In the mornings when I wake up from sleep either my right hand or my left hand or sometime both are tingling and numb. After a short time they are back to normal and don't bother me the rest of the day. At first I thought I was sleeping on my hand at night, but I don't think there is anyway I'm sleeping on both of them...Should I be worried about this?:confused:Please guide me how to releive this numbness

I too have been experiencing this type of pain and numbness in my arms during the night and sometimes when I wake up in the morning - feeling great, but turn over to shut off the alarm and the arm goes numb (scary, because it is my left arm). Then, the strangest thing happens, the fingers go numb and the middle finger - burns! I get up and go to the bathroom, try to wash my hands...the water BURNS me...even the cold water! Just craziness! Anyone have any ideas of what this is called?

Today was morning number three of waking up with both hands numb- pretty scary and weird. The past two were not as bad as the first, because I have been trying to pay attention how I am sleeping. It takes an hour or so, to get them back to normal and all tingling gone. Of course I think I have MS or ALS, and my mom thinks it a cardiac thing, but I feel a little better after reading these postings that many doctors see this alot. Any vitamins, or other suggestions?

Ok... for the past like week or two I have been obviously waking up with pins and needles in my hands. it last for a while though an hour or two after waking up. and I know that numbness is ussually lack of blood flow and I hang my arms off my bed/ downward to see if I can manage to get the blood flowing. it still lasts a good hour. I know about carpal tunel and i know that it is ussually caused by a form of shock to the nerves. (such as hamering or something) but I don't do any of that. the most I do is type and i have heard from some doctors that it really doesn't have anything to do with carpal tunnel.the only thing I am worried about is that I am pregnant (40 weeks... all done. YAH!!!) but could pregnancy have something to do with my blood circulating? is my blood pressure dropping while I am asleep or something? Its not that big of a deal but I am just curious.

I've numbness in my hands & fingers as long as I lift my hands slightly upwards (like holding books, driving etc for a while). At night, the numbness can be so bad that it becomes very painful. I've woken up in the nights, in pain, trying to straighten my arms for better blood flow. But, it takes ages and the numbenss & pain in my right middle finger always persisted even after minutes of hand straightening. I had this problem for more than a yr. Several months after it first started, I was down with reactive arthritis. Anyone has it so bad that it hurts?

I'm not a doctor, but I know that carpel tunnel syndrome does present during pregnancy for some reason. An ob/gyn can perhaps provide an explanation of why. In any event, it is not an unheard of condition to develop during pregnancy. Sometimes it goes away on its own, sometimes sleeping in a brace will fix it, sometimes it requires treatment with a cortisone injection in the wrist, sometimes it may rerquire more. The two people I know that had carpel tunnel as a consequence of pregnancy both had cortisone injections and never had any more problems. They did NOT have the injections during pregnancy because they were waiting to see if it cleared up on its own. In fact, the post delivery stress on your wrist may increase due to lifting and caring for the baby. If your ob/gyn is not familiar with this a good orthopaedist will have seen it before. In any event, the first line of defense is to buy a wrist splint ($15) at the pharmacy and sleep in it. This info is not intended to replace medical care and you should ask the advise of your physician before any home treatment.

While seeing a chiropractor for my neck (he doesn't do manual adjustments, he uses an "activator", much better as I don't like to be "cracked") he noticed I was wearing a wrist support to take care of my "tennis elbow" or carpal tunnel. He used the activator on a couple of spots around my elbow and I haven't needed the wrist support since. That was 2 yrs ago.Just in the past couple of weeks I've noticed my elbow/arm aching again, so I've been back to see him. It definitly has helped me and since my back/neck is usually out too, it's not a wasted visit.Images of an activator are on the web, they're just little, fit in the palm of hand. If you have a fear of chiro, they're definitely the way to go!

Hi, every morning after i waking up from sleep my right hand and my arms and sometimes my left too are suffering from numbness whent i started to move my fingers and hand it wnt back to normal please help me i'm so worried what is the cause of this. Its more than a month already. Thank you

Doesn't anyone get it? Numb hands at night is a clear sign of poor blood circulation. The heart rate drops at night and when that happens extremities of the body is the last place to get blood and it comes slowly because of the slower heart rate. In my opinion numb hands at night is a sign to a much larger problem down the road. It's time to act on your health before it gets worse

I also have been waking up with my right hand so numb, it hurts. I try massaging it and shaking it to get the blood flowing, but it lasts for a long time and even when it's no longer numb, my middle finger burns and is in pain. This has been going on for a few months now and it's gotten worse, there is pain in my hand all day long now and they feel sore.